NHL Playoffs 2014

[CWO Marc]

The paper said that the next team Montreal will be facing are the Rangers, and that there are only two other teams left in the playoffs.  Which two teams are those?  (I haven’t really been following the series.)

[LHoffman]

@CWO:

The paper said that the next team Montreal will be facing are the Rangers, and that there are only two other teams left in the playoffs.  Which two teams are those?  (I haven’t really been following the series.)

It was a pretty significant win for Montreal last night. (That was an understatement).

Actually there are 3 other teams left besides the Rangers. Chicago has already won their series and will play the winner of Anaheim - Los Angeles.

My prediction: Final will be Chicago vs. New York

[CWO Marc]

@LHoffman:

Actually there are 3 other teams left besides the Rangers. Chicago has already won their series and will play the winner of Anaheim - Los Angeles.

Ah, I see.  I though all the other series had already been locked up.  Thanks.

[Young Grasshopper]

Habs beat the Big Bad Bruins in their own barn during a game 7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. WWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOO

[CWO Marc]

@Young:

WWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOO

Yes, that’s approximately the sound I heard outside my window several times during the evening after the game ended.  There’s an unofficial traffic law in Montreal which states that when two motor vehicles flying Canadiens flags or other insignia pass each other on the road after a Habs victory, the vehicles are required to honk their horns at each other.

[hkytown1]

Question for you guys from Ontario.

IF……The Montreal Canadians make it to the Stanley Cup Finals, do you Ontarions root for them being proud Canadian citizens or do you loathe them no matter what and want to see them lose?

You guys didn’t want Vancouver to win in 2011 right?

Just getting ready for the conference finals :-D

[CWO Marc]

Yesterday afternoon while I was walking downtown I passed by a sports bar and I saw on one of their TVs that the Canadiens were playing.  I thought, “That’s funny – why is a downtown sports bar two-thirds empty during a Habs playoff game?”  Then I saw the scoreboard: 5 to 1 for the opposition early in the third period.  I stayed for two or three minutes, during which time the Rangers scored two more goals.  The Canadiens eventually lost by a score of 7 to 2 – on home ice, to add insult to injury.  I hope they learned something useful from this debacle.  As Alfred Hitchcock once said to his set technicians when a device for a movie shoot malfunctioned, “Really, gentlemen, this will not do.  I think this falls into the ‘raised eyebrow’ category.”

[Young Grasshopper]

@hkytown1:

Question for you guys from Ontario.

IF……The Montreal Canadians make it to the Stanley Cup Finals, do you Ontarions root for them being proud Canadian citizens or do you loathe them no matter what and want to see them lose?

You guys didn’t want Vancouver to win in 2011 right?

Just getting ready for the conference finals :-D

The issue is kinda split up here… as for myself, I don’t associate NHL teams with nationality. I find it ridiculous when Boston fans chant USA, USA, USA when playing the Habs, I mean don’t they know that half the Bruins team and management are Canadians. I also found it silly to hear Montreal fans booing the American anthem a few years back, equally insulting to the American players on the team. I remember back when the Toronto Blue Jays won the world series in 93 and all the talk up hear was how the American Marine Corp held the Canadian flag upside down  :roll:. IMO, flag waving is for the olympics, not for professional sports, and I personally would never cheer for the Leafs no matter who they were playing against.

[Young Grasshopper]

@CWO:

Yesterday afternoon while I was walking downtown I passed by a sports bar and I saw on one of their TVs that the Canadiens were playing. I thought, “That’s funny – why is a downtown sports bar two-thirds empty during a Habs playoff game?” Then I saw the scoreboard: 5 to 1 for the opposition early in the third period. I stayed for two or three minutes, during which time the Rangers scored two more goals. The Canadiens eventually lost by a score of 7 to 2 – on home ice, to add insult to injury. I hope they learned something useful from this debacle. As Alfred Hitchcock once said to his set technicians when a device for a movie shoot malfunctioned, “Really, gentlemen, this will not do. I think this falls into the ‘raised eyebrow’ category.”

Carey Price got badly injured when the game was still close, it’s been down hill for the team ever since and the fact that he’s out for the entire series, doesn’t help matters going into NY.

[Imperious Leader]

I’m glad Montreal is only 4 wins away and is certainly looking like they got the momentum. As soon as they win it all this thread will get real quiet and we can go back to assigning one of the American teams as really being a Canadian team in disguise.

[General Veers]

I consider myself a big Rangers fan and I know all too well how much the team has let fans down over the decades. I still can’t believe they won the first two games in such convincing fashion. And Nash scored two goals to boot!

Believe me you’ll hear from me when the Rangers postseason is over. Just hope it lasts three more weeks.

[Young Grasshopper]

My Habs have one foot in the grave, unfortunately the team is playing with zero confidence in their young back up goalie Dustin Takarski (even though he has done everything needed to win, and has proven to be Montreal’s best player during the last 2 games). Incredible the difference an overtime goal in a game 4 makes, now they gotta win 3 in a row against Lundquist.

[LHoffman]

@Young:

My Habs have one foot in the grave, unfortunately the team is playing with zero confidence in their young back up goalie Dustin Takarski (even though he has done everything needed to win, and has proven to be Montreal’s best player during the last 2 games). Incredible the difference an overtime goal in a game 4 makes, now they gotta win 3 in a row against Lundquist.

It certainly is possible. I do think New York is playing with an inordinate amount of luck and is but one real challenge away from reverting to their hollow and offensively uninspired ways. That challenge may not come this round, but it could have. Takarski is playing remarkably well and deserves a lot of credit.

[CWO Marc]

The local papers this morning were all complaining that Montreal’s biggest problem in this series has been their abysmal power play record.  One paper used the phrase “jeu d’impuissance”, which roughly translates as “impotence play”.

[General Veers]

The penalty kill is the strongest attribute the Rangers have, the second being team speed on the counterattack. I think the slower ice at MSG wreaked havoc with both teams, as there were many unpredictable bounces and rebounds. And Tokarski played the game of his life in Game 3, it looks like the Rangers are slowly figuring him out.

[Young Grasshopper]

A wild Habs win for sure… but I’m not gonna give myself a heart attack unless they force a game 7.

[Young Grasshopper]

Sucks when your 3rd string goalie is your best player during a conference final elimination game, oh well… that’s it then.

[LHoffman]

@Young:

Sucks when your 3rd string goalie is your best player during a conference final elimination game, oh well… that’s it then.

It sucks to play so well and then realize the next day that it is all over and you just have to climb all the way back up the hill next year. Been in that situation before.

[General Veers]

Tokarski was the reason the Rangers had to hustle the entire 3rd period since it was still a one-goal game. But it did look like the Habs were out of gas until they pulled the goalie. Got their best chances since the bonkers Lundqvist save with his blocker on Vanek.

[Young Grasshopper]

I honestly believe the turning point was game 2, that was Tokarsky’s first game and the Habs dominated the Rangers but still lost. After that it was hard to play well again even though #35 gave them every reason to trust him from game 3 on. As for game 6… the problem was both strategy and effort, the strategy to dump and chase was counter productive the team’s speed through the neutral zone (which was impassible to the Rangers credit), and the second problem (effort)… was essential for the first problem (strategy). The point of the dump in is to follow it with a strong forecheck, well… they had the dump in part right. The up hill climb next year when they try to get back to the conference final should be fun to watch… hopefully they can build on their success and start earning some… (you know what).